THE TREATY OF PARIS

British, French, Spanish (also allies with the colonists in the war), and American diplomats gathered in Paris in 1783 to make the treaty ending the war. The British and French diplomats were initially not impressed with the diplomatic efforts of the Americans, but soon the American team of John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams demonstrated shrewd diplomatic skills. The Americans negotiated separately with the British, and on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed. (Please note that this is a different Treaty of Paris from the one ending the French and Indian War.) By this treaty Great Britain formally recognized American independence. Britain held on to Canada, but all of the territory they had received from France after the French and Indian War (territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River) was given over to the Americans. The American diplomats also negotiated for fishing rights off the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The British insisted on, and received, promises that British merchants would be free to recover prewar debts and that loyalists would be treated as equal citizens and would be able to recover property seized from them during the war. (As might be expected, many loyalists were leaving the Americas during this period.)